Missing Stylesheet Error

When uploading your WordPress theme, you might see an error message like: “The package could not be installed. The theme is missing the style.css stylesheet.” This can be confusing, but don’t worry, your theme isn’t broken. This usually happens when the wrong file is uploaded to WordPress. Follow these steps to fix the error and install your theme correctly:

Common Cause #1 — Safari Auto-Unzipping ZIP Files

If you’re using Safari, it might automatically unzip the theme file when you save it. This causes WordPress to reject the file because it expects a .zip file to install.

Go to Safari > Preferences > General and uncheck "Open ‘safe’ files after downloading". Then re-download your theme – you should now have a .zip file to upload!

Common Cause #2: The .zip file was opened/unzipped

If you accidentally opened or “unzipped” the theme file, you can delete the folder you have and re-download the theme to get your .zip file.

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